24. Cincinnati Bengals
You really have to tip your cap to Joe Flacco. Maybe all the Bengals needed was someone named “Joe” playing quarterback.
I will admit, I was a little worried about the state of this team after trading for Flacco, because that move seemed like a last-ditch effort to save face after all the money they spent in the offseason. To his credit, Flacco has done an incredible job. He had the Bengals looking like they were a juggernaut on offense, helping Ja’Marr Chase to one of the best games we’ve ever seen from him, and leading a clutch drive making one throw after another.
I mean, all the slant routes you could possibly have asked for. The Bengals and Flacco had that rolling. It’ll be interesting to see how this team fares moving forward after a quality win on a short week bumped them up to 3-4 on the season. They’re not out of it just yet.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars
Well, on the bright side for the Jacksonville Jaguars in an otherwise dismal trip across the pond, Travis Hunter had a 100-yard receiving game. You just can’t lay any flatter than the Jacksonville Jaguars have the past two games, albeit tough matchups against two very good teams.
The Jaguars’ win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night a couple of weeks back apparently came with some strings attached, because they’ve only scored 19 points since then and were just steamrolled on Sunday morning by the Los Angeles Rams.
Part of the problem for the Jaguars in this game was not being able to get out of their own way. The Rams had five passing touchdowns against Jacksonville, and the Jags gave them eight free first downs via penalties. It was about as ugly a performance as you could have asked for, and the Jags have lost some ground at a bad time in the AFC South.